LAS VEGAS (KSNV News3LV) – Two new licenses for businesses that want to sell medical marijuana were approved Wednesday by the Las Vegas City Council.

Las Vegas is already home to two medical marijuana dispensaries; it’s unclear when the new businesses will open.

In an unusual twist, the City Council appeared ready to approve as many as six new licenses; however, some businesses asked for more time. Some would-be pot shops are awaiting approval from state inspectors.

“The help of the council has been incredible,” said Vicki Higgins of Cannabis Advocates. “Unfortunately, there are many that were delayed today as to the lack of inspectors available to do the inspections. The council does not see the patients, but they are suffering and the businesses are losing a lot of money waiting for the inspections and waiting for the final things to come out.”

The City Council agreed to review the license requests again in December to allow more time for required state inspections.

SACRAMENTO- Today, Governor Brown signed a historic package of laws which will provide statewide rules regulating medical marijuana. As former CHP officer and joint author of the package, Assemblyman Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) was focused addressing the proliferation of drugged driving (DUID) which has increased dramatically in states with legalized recreational marijuana.

The new laws commission research by the University of California, San Diego which will lay the groundwork for new marijuana-specific field sobriety tests and other tools to detect high drivers.

“California has not had a statewide strategy for curbing drugged driving (DUID). Today that begins to change as the University of California will begin critical research on marijuana-impaired driving which will lead to better roadside tools for law enforcement,” said Lackey. “A recent report on Colorado showed nearly 1 out of 5 car crash deaths in 2014 were marijuana-related. With legalization initiatives looming, it’s vital we prepare for how to keep our roads safe for all Californians. I am thankful Governor Brown worked with us to address this public safety hazard head on.”

Lack of comprehensive research on marijuana-impaired driving has slowed law enforcement’s ability to crack down on stoned drivers. The research initiated by the passage of AB 266 will be later used to develop best practices for officers in the field.

A report released in August by the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area examined Colorado’s experience after legalizing recreational marijuana. Some conclusions found about marijuana-impaired driving were:
Following legalization, marijuana-related traffic deaths increased 32 percent in one year
Marijuana-related traffic deaths made up approximately 20 percent of all traffic deaths in 2014. In 2009, they made up 10 percent of all traffic deaths.

Numerous initiatives have already been filed in California to present voters with the option of legalizing recreational marijuana next year, so it is vital the state prepares to deal with increasing numbers of drugged drivers.

Last week, the Governors Highway Safety Association called for national action on DUID as statistics show incidents of drug-impaired driving are approaching the frequency of drunk driving.

At Healthy Holistic Living we search the web for alternative health content to share with you. This article is shared with permission from our friends at Waking Times.

As cannabis becomes more integrated within mainstream culture, millions are becoming more educated on the many benefits of THC and cannabinoids. Not only does cannabis consumption lower insulin resistance, but it also improves fasting insulin and facilitates metabolic function. More athletes and even those engaged in moderate recreational fitness have incredible benefits from daily consumption of the once demonized plant.

Coupled with the pain-relieving effects of both plant and human-derived cannabinoids, cannabis and exercise seem to go hand in hand if you’re looking to improve your physical health.

Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas that allows your body to use sugar (glucose) from carbohydrates in the food that you eat for energy or to store glucose for future use. Insulin helps keeps your blood sugar level from getting too high or too low. If you consume a meal which make blood glucose levels rise quickly, insulin secretion often overshoots to compensate and the excess is stored as fat. If you have too much unused glucose in your cells, you will gain weight. If your body isn’t handling insulin properly, you may also gain weight.

A study published in the American Journal of Medicine has found that regular cannabis consumers have fasting insulin (insulin in your body before eating) levels 16% lower than non-consumers. The study also found that cannabis consumers had 17% lower insulin resistance levels and lower average waist circumferences. The researchers concluded that there were significant associations between marijuana use and smaller waist circumferences.

Some athletes swear by using marijuana or its isolated active ingredients, such as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) as performance-enhancing drugs, saying these substances ease anxiety and increase pain threshold so that they can push themselves during workouts.

“Marijuana relaxes me and allows me to go into a controlled, meditational place,” Drusinsky told Men’s Journal. “When I get high, I train smarter and focus on form.”

Researchers say that marijuana has an anti-inflammatory effect and that the chemical compounds that come from weed might mimic the body’s natural endorphins, which could help increase our pain threshold like a natural runner’s high and make it easier to push through a tough workout.

Contrary to popular thought, it’s not just the endorphins (the compounds which make you feel excited after activities such as exercise and sex) that make physical activity so great. A 2003 studyfound that exercise actually activates the endocannabinoid system in the same way that the cannabis plant does. The endocannabinoid system is a group of lipids (types of fats) and cell receptors that cannabinoids (compounds like THC and CBD) bind to inside the body. The endocannabinoid system is responsible for easing pain, controlling appetite, and influences mood and memory.

Perhaps as a coping mechanism for easing pain, the body naturally produces its own cannabinoids during exercise. In the aforementioned study, researchers found that human-produced cannabinoids increase as you exercise, causing you to feel a little “high.”

It’s not news to the medical community that the human body stores tetrahydrocannabidiol (THC), the main psychoactive in cannabis, in fat. However, a study put out this August in Drug and Alcohol Dependence has shown that this storage process can give exercisers an extra boost, even up to 28 days after consumption.

As the body begins to burn off fat, small amounts of THC are released back into the bloodstream, producing an effect similar to consuming a small amount of cannabis. THC blood levels increased by approximately 15% immediately after moderate exercise, yet this increase was no longer present two hours after the workout.

Researchers discovered that engaging in exercise can provide you with a stronger buzz and increase the potency of the marijuana. The fact is that working out for just a half hour will trigger an additional stronger high for marijuana users.

This study also showed a correlation between THC release and BMI. The greater the BMI, the greater the increase in THC reintroduced to the body.

Exercise Also Activates the Brain’s Endocannabinoid System

In a 2003 study, researchers uncovered the truth that marijuana and exercise both activate the same endocannabinoid system in the brain.

As a group of lipids, fats, and cell receptors that THC bind to when smoking weed, the endocannabinoid system plays a prominent role in the neurological system for maintaining homeostasis for overall human health. In short, the endocannabinoid system is responsible for easing our pain, controlling our appetite, relieving our stress, influencing our mood, and even regulating our memory. In order to help our body cope with pain from rigorous physical activity, our brain will naturally produce its own version of cannabinoids to stimulate this system during exercise. Just like taking a hit of marijuana, the natural cannabinoids will begin to circulate through the endocannabinoid system when you exercise to produce a high.

Peak blood concentrations of cannabinoids occur in 3-8 minutes after you inhale, as opposed to 60-90 minutes after you eat a weed- or oil-containing edible, with neural effects beginning after 20 minutes and maximizing within a range of 2-4 hours.

A 2013 adjusted epidemiological study showed that obesity rates are significantly lower for all groups of cannabis users (inclusive of gender and age) compared to those who had not used cannabis in the last 12 months.

The lower Body Mass Index (BMI) of pot-smokers may be explained by an adaptive down-regulation of brain endocannabinoid signaling. While acute THC stimulates appetite, the repeated stimulation of CB1 receptors by THC decreases receptor expression and sensitivity, and long-term stimulation may result in antagonistic rather than agonistic triggering of CB1 receptors, which would dampen hunger signals.

Whether you’re weight lifting or marathon-style running, smoking marijuana changes the game a bit. And with marijuana becoming legal in Oregon recently, it seems appropriate to share a little information on how cannabis affects your exercise endeavors.

On a microscopic level, our bodies work similar to a lock and key mechanism. The keys, or compounds, float around in the blood until they meet their specific lock, or receptor, which is usually anchored to a specific body part. When they meet, the receptor “unlocks” and triggers something to happen inside our body.

An easy example to help us understand this concept is insulin. Insulin is a key that floats in the blood, and when it meets its receptor, the result is a decrease in blood sugar.

The “keys” in marijuana are known as cannabinoids. The two main cannabinoids are tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and the less well-known cannabidiol, or CBD. They bind to and activate cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2 (CB1 and CB2) in our brain and body.

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Some research shows that after we weight lift, the CB1 receptor gets turned off, and this leads to a major muscle-growth hormone being released. The hormone is called mTOR, if you’re curious, and it’s one of the primary hormones responsible for muscle growth.

And if you need a cherry on top, here it is: After smoking, testosterone levels decrease and cortisol levels increase. Testosterone is another primary hormone responsible for muscle growth, and cortisol is a primary hormone responsible for breaking muscle down.

So, probably not the best idea to smoke before or after lifting. But what about other types of exercise, like running or swimming? How does pot use affect us there?

The research is pretty clear on this one. Cannabis use increases time to fatigue, meaning it makes you tired faster. Instead of gassing out after 30 minutes of jogging or swimming, you might gas out after 20 instead. Whether you’re racing or just working out, that can have a significant impact on your efforts.

Additionally, marijuana decreases reaction time, hand-eye coordination and interrupts concentration. In sport, all three of those are absolutely critical to playing at your highest level.

And don’t think you’re off the hook soccer players: if hand-eye coordination is decreased, foot-eye coordination likely is to.

But aside from sport, a decrease in reaction time, coordination and concentration is a great recipe for injury. You may lose just enough control of your body to tweak this or that — or, God forbid, tear or break something. Not to mention, a decrease in reaction time and concentration can have a deadly impact if you choose to smoke and drive.

So, it’s pretty safe to say that cannabis decreases athletic and exercise performance in every way, and it’s not something that is likely to increase performance.

In all fairness, however, there may be something to say for the psychological effects of marijuana. Smoking marijuana decreases stress and anxiety, and if the negative effects of being stressed out over a big game outweigh the negative physiological effects of smoking (everything mentioned above), then it may be beneficial.

But, in any other scenario, smoking cannabis isn’t going to help.

Additionally, these effects have been shown to last up to 36 hours after use. So, just don’t use marijuana before or after a workout or game, right? Not so fast.

The cannabinoids (THC and CBD) are stored in our body’s fat cells. So, even if you haven’t smoked in a while, you might still have some THC and CBD stored in your fat cells. As we burn fat, like when we exercise, those compounds are released into our bloodstream. That’s either pretty interesting, or pretty scary, depending on your history with marijuana!

But just like we know drinking alcohol and eating Snickers bars isn’t going to help our “gains,” occasional or recreational use of marijuana probably isn’t going to negate hard work in the gym either.

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